young souls. ik so they say, "you're like the father i never had." and then i usually respond by saying, "you're the son i never wanted." ( laughter ) captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" orith scott pelley. ort, a ratpelley: good evening. the federal reserve decided today that the economy needs for support, and so it will hole own interest rates near 0, and keep mortgages cheap. the central bank also did something today it hasn't done illits 100-year history. it revealed its targets for aising interest rates. it said that the rates will stay near zero until unemployment falls below 6.5%. that could be three years away. the fed also said rates will stay low as long as inflation remains below 2.5%.

hee idea is to give business, investors, and families a little more certainty about what to expect. and here's wyatt andrews. >> reporter: the announcement means the cost of borrowing will e ay near zero until the economy creates at least one million jobs. ategyhairman ben bernanke said the employment target is a better signal to investors and the public of just how long interest rates will stay low. >> a strategy that we believe ill help support household and business confidence and spending. >> reporter: to control interest rates, the fed plans to buy $85 eellion worth of bonds every ownth, $45 billion in treasury bills, $40 billion worth of hinggage bonds. the mortgage buying program has already driven rates to historic lows and driven up mortgage applications by 10%. but bernanke says the economy

afeds more confidence now because of the uncertain fiscal cliff negotiations in unshington. and the harm from the fiscal cliff won't just happen in the enedre. bernanke said that's happening now. >> it's already affecting absiness investment and hiring decisions by creating uncertainty, or creating r:ssimism. ai saw what happened recently to consumer sentiment, which fell, tesumably in part because of concerns about the fiscal cliff. t reporter: the other main concern for the fed is inflation. but, scott, there's good news here. despite the trillions the fed eds pumped into economy, bernanke called the inflation tame, for now, projected 2%. elleelley: if the chairman of the fed is worried about the fiscal cliff there is nothing today that would have cheered ram up. a are less than two weeks away from the traditional prngressional holiday break, and noe republican speaker of the house and president obama seem no closer to a budget deal. as you know, if they don't come up with a spending compromise, most americans will see a hefty tax increase automatically on january 1. major garrett is covering for us at the white house tonight. major? h reporter: scott, two senior

white house officials tell us the next 48 hours are crucial. until republicans relent on raising income tax rates for households earning more than $250,000, the democrats will not discuss g.o.p. demand for cuts medicaitlement programs like te house and medicaid. this white house photo of president obama talking yesterday to house speaker john boehner does not convey the 2%se and difficult reality. the g.o.p. leader told mr. obama he wanted to permanently extend all current tax rates, including reose for the two 2% of earners. > there were some offers that conversahanged back and forth yesterday, and the president and r:had a pretty frank conversation about just how far apart we are. >> reporter: we asked white hinge spokesman jay carney today uhere things stood. how would you rate speaker boehner's flexibility? leahere's no indication yet hatt the republican leadership is willing to acknowledge the basic fact that rates need to rise on the top 2%.

>> reporter: the white house says it has been flexible, cutting mr. obama's tax increase request from $1.6 trillion to $1.4 trillion. uill unrealistic, republicans said. >> the president's call for $1.4 trillion worth of revenue. fhat cannot pass the house or or senate. w reporter: white house officials say republicans will find the president flexibility n future entitlement savings ond how income taxes must go inly if they give in on income tax rates. as much as ideology standing in the way now, is a lack of trust, that and a shared history of cutting deals with each side gives a little and survives politically. >> pelley: negotiations ley: negn. ryjor, thanks very much. we've been working today on that ootingng mall shooting in oregon last night. the police are now telling us us gunman was jacob roberts, 22 years old. 2e killed two shoppers, total strangers and then killed himself. what we don't know is why. whhn blackstone is in clackamas ounty, oregon.

oregporter: 10,000 people were when tmall when the shooting began, the rush of christmas s opping became a rush to survive. bob schwab was walking nearby. what did you hear? >> i heard bang, bang, bang, bang. >> reporter: stephen forsythe iled in the food court. shopper cindy yuille was there, e o. a 15-year-old was seriously wounded. the gunman knew none of his victims. >> i think we all need to be very thankful that this incident wasn't much worse. >> reporter: the gunman was armed with an ar-15 semiautomatic rifle and carry the several magazines of ammunition. >> it appeared the suspect's rifle did jam while he was attacking individuals in the arin court. uchreporter: the mall had incitly run a drill preparing shojust such an incident. stores gathered shoppers and incked their doors.

allice arrived at the mall within two minutes of the first 911 call and brought thousands out of the mall ordering them all to keep their hands up. witnesses say 22-year-old jacob roberts was wearing a hockey mask and yelled, "i am the hooter," before he ran down a back hall and turned the gun on himself. roberts has no police record, on h but his mother had seen his life going wrong for years. on her myspace web page, she complained of his drug use and refusal to talk to her. in 2008 she wrote, "i really thought he was growing up to be awman, and i'm afraid my son will end up in jail before he appe a clue." itfore roberts came to the mall here yesterday, a neighbor saw sim leaving his home with what appeared to be a guitar case. and, scott, the sheriff says the gun used was stolen from someone roberts knows. >> pelley: john, thank you. north korea, a hermit dictatorship that cannot always feed its own people, has now become the 13th nation to put a satellite into orbit. the success last night means

edat the nuclear armed country has a rocket capable of reaching the united states. here's david martin. u.seporter: u.s. intelligence failed to detect signs the north korean launch was imminent. officials insist that made no difference in the ability of the ket acan missile defense system ge track the rocket as it jettisoned its first stage in the yellow sea as planned, and its second in the philippine sea before boosting what the north koreans say is a weather inellite into polar orbit. u.s. navy ships in the pacific lad missile defense crews in colorado had already been placed on alert and did not require officiaof a launch. had the rocket been fired on a aljectory that threatened the united states, officials say interceptors based in alaska and california would have been ready ay shoot it down. still, these officials say they re now trying to determine th koreanorth korea deliberately disguised its launch plans or whether u.s. intelligence simply missed the final preparations. last april, a similar rocket fail two minutes after launch.

this time, north korea announced it was experiencing technical tfficulties and would need to extend the launch window to the whd of the month. oether those difficulties were real or fake, the rocket was ruickly prepared for launch without u.s. intelligence detecting it had been fully fueled. .he satellite is now circling ce earth and is likely to stay up for a year or two. although, it appears the north koreans are having trouble controlling it. >> pelley: david, thank you. id, thears the syrian dictatorship has turned to ballistic missiles in its war on its own people. the u.s. says that scud missiles have been launched against rebels, and it's an ominous sign because it's a much larger weapon with a lot of explosive power. the dictatorship of bashar al- arsad has been fighting a rebellion for more than a year and a half. at least 40,000 syrians dead, most civilians. we wondered what life is like for syrian rebels under the government's firepower. our elizabeth palmer managed to

reach just such a neighborhood on the outskirts of the capital damascus. >> reporter: from a distance, upe destructive power of a missile fired from a mig warplane isn't obvious. but up close, it's overwhelming. sarah is a 21-year-old opposition activist working in the suburbs of damascus. is that the worst, seeing a fighter plane overhead? hi >> reporter: sarah and a small vacp of cyber soldiers headquartered in a vacant apartment, make sure videos of nyrian military attacks on their neighborhood are posted online. working from the battle field-- that is, their own backyard. as we discovered when we spent a night with sarah's family, heavy shelling by the syrian army

forced everyone to pick up their akdding and make a run for the basement. in the morning, sarah pointed in aht more damage, like the local hospital, destroyed by a direct oct. hospitf these activists can show their faces. >> reporter: it's going on even in the daytime? >> yes. >> reporter: there are constant risk, not only from the shelling, but also from arrest if they try to leave the area, which is surrounded by the syrian military. inside the neighborhood, the rebels are in control. this morning, out in the open for their physical exercise routine. these are local men who for the thst part share sarah's vision for a freer, more democratic syria without assad. s

ter: borter: but after walking e freshhe fresh graves of young younghe knew and who were killed n the last 21 months of fighting, sarah's stress and fi exhaustion start to show. what's your biggest fear now? >> reporter: but staying alive is getting harder and harder as the decisive battle for damascus closes in. elizabeth palmer, cbs news, the amascus suburbs. urbs.lley: california's governor reveals he has cancer. smugglers are moving drugs using their own submarines and they're in love with the number 12. when the "cbs evening news" continues.

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>> pelley: mexican gangs are creative about smuggling drugs, but have a look at this. those are canisters filled with marijuana, 33 of them, discovered in a field in arizona. the border patrol said today the smugglers used a pneumatic cannon to fire them 500 feet over the fence and into the u.s. the agents got there before anyone could pick them up. but even more amazing is something that our bob orr has found. it is a vehicle that is becoming a favorite of drug runners.

>> reporter: under this shed is big foot ii-- a 60-foot semi-submarine, captured by the u.s. coast guard in the caribbean in 2008. it cost just $2 million to build, but it was carrying $150 million in cocaine. vessel like this one are called semi-submersible because they sail with their tops just above the surface to maintain an air supply for the crew. the semis move cocaine from mbia to central america, where it's then transferred by planned landing into the u.s. >> careful, it's not solid. >> reporter: inside, we found the semi-sub to be a floating warehouse with ace for drugs and little else.

this is the pilothouse of a big foot 2 semi-submersible-- the helm, a compass, the controls-- and very cramped quarters for the crew of four. another semi-sub was caught by the coast guard in september 2011 by patrolling drug smuggling lanes. the cutter mohawk received an intelligence tip and intercepted this vessel near honduras. when a coast guard skiff closed in, the crew scuttled the sub and bailed. the vessel sank in seconds. with an unknown cache of cocaine resting just 80 feet below the surface, the coast guard feared dealers would try to retrieve the lost treasure so the f.b.i.'s dive team was called. michael tyms is the team's leader. >> part of the mission is deny the drugs the ability to get here to our country so to leave them there would have left the job unfinished, so to speak. >> reporter: wearing underwater cameras, tyms and his team cut into the submarine, finding more than $200 million of cocaine wrapped in waterproof packets. now drug runners are moving to a

more sophisticated, harder-to- detect vessel. soldiers have found fully submersible submarines along rivers that connect to the sea. coast guard commander walsh worries about other groups getting access to that kind of technol. couldn't someone use a submersible for terrorist activity or arms running? >> that's a very big concern of ourselves. the vessels would certainly be of value to terrorist organizations that want to move people or equipment or other items towards the united states. >> reporter: as for the men who jumped off that semisub, they were rescued by the coast guard are now in prison in the united states. bob orr cbs news, charleston, south carolina. >> pelley: we remember ravi >> pelley: we got word late shankar, master of the sitar. a. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open for 24 hours.

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india's musical ambassador, ravi shankar, has died. ♪ shankar was the master of the stringed instrument called the sitar. in the 1960s, he taught beatle george harrison how to play while introducing traditional indian music to the west. shankar also organized the world's first big rock benefit, the concert for bangladesh in 1971. and he was the father of popular singer norah jones. ravi shankar died yesterday in san diego. he was 92. if your favorite number is 12, well, this was your day. at 12 past noon, the clock said 12:12. the calendar 12-12-12. some folks thought it was a good day to get married. the husbands will have no excuse for forgetting their anniversary. our researchers tell us that folks who love the number 12 are dodeckafiles.

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you spend all day cooking it. so why spend even a moment considering any broth but swanson? the broth cooks trust most to make the meal folks spend all year waiting for. in stuffing and more, the secret is swanson. stay in the car. >> okay... >> he's in the backyard! >> that was dean reynolds earlier this week with chicago police reporting on their battle against gang violence. tonight, dean has a story of a chicago man fighting the battle in a different way not with guns but with wrenches. >> now, this is interesting, 1958 chevy apache. >> reporter: alex levesque's body shop is on chicago's tough southwest side. the 56-year-old former architect always loved cars and kids of a certain kind.

>> i'm looking for the disenfranchised, the gang members that are running around aimlessly doing crimes because they feel like they don't have any other options to be successful. >> reporter: almost all have records and gang ties. >> finally, it was put on my heart, what about you? are you willing to step up? are you willing to sacrifice something? how can you use these cars to save lives? >> reporter: with money from his own pocket and some donations, levesque gives them a chance to restore their lives along with these jalopies. any profits go back to the shop. >> when you're able to put some tools in a young man's hand and he is able to learn how to use, you know, ratchets and learn how to use cutting tools and a torch, something magical about that, that when that happens, it turns boys into men. >> reporter: do you have children? >> no, i don't. >> reporter: these guys are sort of your kids? >> exactly. it's interesting because they want to feel that kind of connection. so they say, you're like the father i never had. and then i usually respond by

saying, you're the son i never wanted. [ laughter ] >> we are just kind of rebuilding the foundation. >> reporter: in five years, levesque has mentored 300 people. jonas jacox has worked here since last month. >> i did, like, 12 years in the penitentiary. i'm trying to do something different. >> reporter: what were you in jail for? >> i was in jail for a lot of -- attempted murder, gun cases. if i didn't have this situation where i know i can come in here and build my skills and have a career in the future, i would be plotting on how i was going to pay my bills. >> reporter: they just want somebody to put their arm around them and tell them, you did a good job. and that's what i do. >> reporter: the things that come into this shop are banged up and neglected. but thanks to alex levesque, they leave in much better shape. [ car starts ] >> yeah! >> reporter: dean reynolds, cbs news, chicago. >> and that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight.

for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night. captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald. good evening, i'm elizabeth cook. >> i'm allen martin. san jose long billed itself as the safest big city in america. as 2012 draws to a close with a string of high-profile crimes, many residents now have doubts about their safety. and now a problem that threatens to complicate matters. an exodus at the san jose plymouth. as cbs 5 reporter len ramirez explains, they can't train officers fast enough to replace the ones they are losing at the san jose police department. len. >> reporter: that's right. the san jose police officers association says that 90 officers have handed in their resignations so far this year and that includes the chief of

police chris moore who will be stepping down in january. not only are they having trouble to hang on to the officers they have, it's having a problem attracting new ones. san jose police recruits are told, don't walk, run to classes while at the academy. but it's the department itself that can't move fast enough to replace all the officers walking away from the s j.p. d. >> we're losing officers at a fashioner rate than we can replace them. >> reporter: the academy supervisor says it's the first time he has seen that trend in 20 years at the sjpd. he says it won't change the quality or speed of training which is nine months from beginning to end. this academy of 44 officers has six more months of training ahead. >> the fact that they are needed desperately doesn't change the fact that they have to be competent when they leave here. we're not reducing or ramping up the time that it takes to train them because of the needs in th police department. that would be te